Direct proof of use
The M-46 appears in the Syrian Civil War record through Syrian government artillery reporting and imagery of locally mounted 130 mm guns. Defense One, citing U.S. State Department satellite imagery released on February 11, 2012, listed M-46 130 mm towed guns among Syrian artillery positioned around Homs and elsewhere in southern Syria during early government bombardments.
Armament Research Services documented mid-May 2015 imagery of Syrian Arab Army soldiers posing with a 130 mm BEE4 base-bleed/rocket-assisted projectile designed for guns including the M-46, Type 59, and Type 59-1. ARES identified the soldiers as part of a 130 mm self-propelled gun crew and described Syrian government use of M-46 guns installed on heavy trucks from at least 2013.
Sources: Defense One Syrian War Artillery, ARES BEE4 Projectiles in Syria
Timeline
The earliest dated source in this record places M-46 guns in the Syrian government's artillery around Homs in February 2012. ARES then documents 2015 Syrian Arab Army crew and ammunition imagery tied to truck-mounted 130 mm self-propelled guns.
Later reporting focused on the local truck-mounted conversions. Tank Encyclopedia reported sightings in Damascus during the July-August 2012 Battle of Damascus, operational use in Aleppo in 2016, and use against ISIL in eastern Hama in mid-July 2017. Army Recognition separately reported in July 2017 that Syrian military forces had produced a locally mounted 130 mm M-46 8x8 self-propelled howitzer using a Soviet-made M-46 gun on a civilian truck chassis.
Sources: Defense One Syrian War Artillery, ARES BEE4 Projectiles in Syria, Tank Encyclopedia M-46 Truck Mounts, Army Recognition Syria M-46 8x8
Narrative
Syrian government use of the M-46 centered on heavy indirect fire and improvised mobility. The basic weapon was a Soviet 130 mm field gun already in Syrian service, while the wartime adaptation mounted the gun on heavy commercial 8x8 truck chassis to create a locally produced wheeled self-propelled gun.
The documented roles were fire support and long-range artillery fire. ARES linked the 2015 imagery to BEE4 extended-range 130 mm ammunition for the M-46/Type 59 family, while Tank Encyclopedia described the truck-mounted guns as used in Damascus, Aleppo, and eastern Hama. Army Recognition described the July 2017 Syrian 8x8 configuration as intended to give artillery units more mobility than a towed gun.
Sources: ARES BEE4 Projectiles in Syria, Tank Encyclopedia M-46 Truck Mounts, Army Recognition Syria M-46 8x8
